Cas wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep. When he lay down, Michael had been doing paperwork, and now Michael was still doing paperwork. It could have been an hour or a day. Somehow Cas doubted it had been that long, though. He normally didn't sleep more than a few hours at a time.
The scratching of the pen stopped as Michael saw that his younger brother was awake. "Good morning, Castiel."
"Morning." He rolled over, stretched, and then sat up. His blanket fell to the floor, and he picked it up and tried to fold it, but the corners kept going askew and he'd have to do it over.
"No, no, stop! You're making a mess of it. Here, let me help you." Mike got up and came over. "You take those two corners, and I'll take these two."
So far so good.
"Fold it lengthwise the first time, like so." He brought his right hand over to meet his left, and Cas did the same. "Now flip it over and bring the ends together." Shifting it so it was flat, he brought it up to meet Cas' end. "Then square it off and you're done."
"Thank you," Cas said, setting the folded blanket on the end of the couch.
"Don't ever be afraid to ask for help if you need it, okay?"
"Okay."
"Are you hungry? Do you want some breakfast?"
"Yes, please. HalO's, please."
"Ah." Mike waved his hand, and the full bowl appeared on the side table as if by magic. "Juice?"
"Yes, please."
A small glass of juice joined the bowl.
"Thank you," Cas said, and sat back down and ate. Mike went back to work. A short time later, he raised his head as if listening to something.
"Yes," he said to empty air. "I'll tell him. Give us a few minutes."
He turned to Cas, who was scraping the last few O's from the bottom of the bowl. "Raph says Gabriel is awake and asking for you."
Cas jumped up so suddenly that he almost knocked the bowl over. "Can we go now? Is he okay? Were they able to fix him?"
"Slow down, child. We'll go see him in a minute, but first I want to explain a few things to you. First of all, Gabriel is out of danger, but he's still very ill. So you're not to tire him out or overstay your welcome. Second, even though you don't have school today, I still expect you to keep up with your studies."
"But I did all my homework already!"
"I might have some independent reading for you to do. I'll check on it before the end of the day. And finally: archangel business is archangel business, Castiel. Anything you might overhear us discussing is not to be shared with anyone else, no matter what. Understand that anything we feel the need to keep from you is for your own good. You're still only a child, and as much as I know you want to help, you're not powerful enough yet. Your time will come, but for now, stick to your lessons and do what you're told. Do you understand?"
Cas nodded. "Yes," he said.
"Good." Michael waved, and the empty glass and bowl disappeared. "Do you want to leave the blanket here, or bring it with you?"
"Will I be coming back here?"
"That depends."
"On what?"
"On how well you behave."
They passed Lucifer in the corridor on their way to the room that Cas shared with Gabe. Luci glanced at them but said nothing, looking away with a dark, angry expression on his face. Michael likewise glanced at him and then looked away. The look on his face was sad and resigned. Cas wondered what was going on, but didn't ask in case it was "archangel business".
Raphael was waiting for them in the sitting room. "He's in the bedroom," he said. "Don't stay too long. I don't want you getting him over-excited. He's still got a long way to go before he's fully well again."
"Just tell me one thing," Cas said.
Raph nodded expectantly.
"The . . . thing . . . that hurt him . . . is it dead? Did you kill it?"
Raph hesitated for only a moment. "Yes," he said. "We destroyed it."
Michael gave him an odd look.
"Thank you." Cas nodded and headed for the bedroom. His own bedroom, because Gabe didn't sleep anymore. Not normally, anyway. He turned the knob and entered the room, not really sure what to expect.
Gabe was semi-sitting up in bed, leaning back against the headboard with a weary expression on his face. The covers were pulled up to his chest, hiding the injury. Cas didn't want to see it, anyway, even if it had started healing. "Hey, Cassie."
"Gabe!" Cas started to run to him, and Gabe held up a hand to stop him.
"Whoa, whoa! Come around the other side, squirt, okay? Still a little tender on that side."
Cas slowed down and approached him from the other side, throwing his arms around his brother but trying not to squeeze too tightly. "I missed you!"
"I missed you, too, baby bro. Well, mostly I slept, but when I was awake I missed you. Where were you last night?"
"I was with Mike. I slept on his couch. He came back here and got my blanket for me. Then he helped me fold it up."
"Mikey and his tight corners. He was always after me to make my bed. What's the point, I told him, if you're just gonna get back into it in a few hours? But no, had to make the bed. Properly. Then I'd bounce all over it and mess it up again. Just to spite him."
Cas rested his cheek against Gabe's far-too-warm one. "But you don't even sleep anymore. You haven't since I was born."
"I know. You don't mind if I borrow your bed, do ya, Cassie? I'm . . . not feeling too good right now."
"I know. I'm sorry you got bit by . . . whatever it was."
"You're sorry? I'm the one that got used as a chew toy! But I'm fine now. At least, I will be. Gimme another day, maybe. You'll be okay for another day?"
"I think so."
"Hey, aren't you supposed to be in school?"
"Mike said no school today. But he said he'd make me do some reading or something instead, so I still gotta work."
"Lucky you. I never had extra work after school, but only because I had you. You were a lot of work, kiddo—but it was a labor of love. I couldn't wait to get home and see you every day." He reached down and ruffled Cas' hair.
"Hey, quit it!"
"Why? I can't make it look worse than it already does. You won't let me brush it for you."
"Yeah, cause it hurts when you brush it!"
"If you'd hold still, it wouldn't hurt!" Gabe's hand went to his side, and he squeezed his eyes shut in a pained expression.
"I'm sorry," Cas said. "I should go now."
"No." Gabe straightened up and took a deep breath, or at least as deep as his injury would allow. "Stay. Just sit in the chair quietly. Do your reading while I try to sleep."
"I don't have my book."
There was a tap at the door. "Everything all right in here?" Michael asked.
Gabe groaned. "Just peachy. Get the kid his book, will you? He's gonna be here a while."
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Please?" Cas begged. "I'll be really quiet and won't bother anyone! I'll do all my reading; you can even test me on it! Please just let me stay with him!"
"Only for a few hours," Mike agreed. "When I come and get you, you'd better be ready to go. As much as I know you'd like to stay here all day, it's not a good idea. So be ready when I come back for you."
"I will," Cas nodded. A few hours wasn't much, but at least it was something.
"Here's your book." Mike set it down on the nightstand. "Read chapters four through seven. I'll quiz you on it when I pick you up."
"Okay." He sat down in the chair and opened his book, glancing over to make sure that Gabe was sleeping, or at least resting comfortably. Things would be okay. Maybe not now, but soon.
The next day was a school day, and even though Castiel didn't want to leave Gabe alone, Raphael insisted that he not miss another day.
"Today is going to be very special," he said. "The class will be sparring with their new blades."
"But I don't have one yet."
"You can still watch what they do and learn for the future. I don't think it will be long now before you come into your full grace. We need to be ready for that day."
"Is it true? Is there gonna be a war?"
Raph looked at Mike, who nodded slightly. "Yes," Raph said, "it's beginning to look that way. Lucifer will not be reasonable, and we can't let things continue as they are. Something has to change. You understand you're not to discuss this with the class-"
"Even if they ask me?"
There was a rustle of bedclothes from across the room as Gabriel tried to sit up. "Maybe you should talk to the class, Raphie. Best way to keep a rumor flying is to deny everything. Tell them as much of the truth as you can . . ."
"I'll do that. You," he said, reaching out a hand to push Gabe back onto the bed, "lie down. I'll be back to check on you after school . . . and I definitely won't be alone."
Cas was excited about that. It was even worth walking both to and from class with Raphael. He grabbed his backpack, made sure that the golden feather was in the side compartment, and was almost out the door before he remembered something.
He went back and spread his animal blanket over Gabe, who clutched it and smiled. The blanket looked ridiculously tiny covering the archangel, but it was just what he needed in that moment.
The moment that Raphael stepped into the classroom, there was a change in the air. All the little side conversations stopped abruptly and the young angels turned to their teacher expectantly.
"It has come to my attention," Raph said, "that there have been several rumors making the rounds about a possible civil war in Heaven. I'm here to tell you . . . those rumors are true."
A murmur went around the room and was quickly silenced.
"It is true that certain forces have been . . . vocal in their discontent with the current leadership. This has gone beyond a simple brotherly disagreement, although I do not believe we have reached the point of no return. We will do all we can to prevent this war from coming to pass, but in the event that it does happen, we want all of you to be prepared to defend yourselves. That is why we're making blades and learning to use them.
"Some of you may be called upon to join Heaven's army and defend all of us. While no Assignment is written in stone, in the event that war does break out, we will need all the help we can get. So don't be surprised if you're chosen to join a garrison in the near future.
"I trust you've all done the reading?"
There were murmurs of assent.
"Good. Now we're going to put what we've learned into practice. Bring your blades and follow me."
Cas followed them even though he didn't have his own blade. He felt better now that he knew the truth, or at least as much of the truth as the archangels were comfortable sharing. No more secrets. Not ever again, he hoped. They just caused too much trouble.
